Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has confirmed that he will not bother to select Mamelodi Sundowns players for the friendly matches in June due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.

The friendly matches, arranged by Broos and SAFA, are scheduled against Tanzania and Namibia. The venues for these games will be announced closer to the dates.

The June international break provides an opportunity for Bafana Bafana to play friendly matches, as they will only resume their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in September with away fixtures against Lesotho (likely to be played in South Africa, given Lesotho’s current ban on hosting international matches) and a home game against Nigeria.

Broos, who on Thursday announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on 21 March and Benin at a neutral venue in Ivory Coast four days later, revealed that he has several players in mind for the June friendlies.

One potential selection is Orlando Pirates’ young defender, Mbekeli Mbokazi.

“We discussed the centre-back at Orlando Pirates, Mbekeli Mbokazi, and there are other players on the list,” Broos stated. “Thabo Moloisane is already in consideration. We intend to give these players opportunities, but we cannot do so now. Therefore, I will use the June friendlies to call them up and provide them with valuable experience.

“Specifically, I will not select Mamelodi Sundowns players in June, and I have already informed the club that they can keep their players to prepare for the Club World Cup.

“Instead, we will call up other younger players. We are scheduled to play against Tanzania and possibly Namibia. I will use these two games to assess these youngsters and see how they perform.”

Only the group winners will automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA, while the four best-placed runners-up will have a second chance through the play-offs.”

Pic courtesy of KMSnaps Graphics